Honda recalls 6000 cars

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Honda is recalling nearly 6000 cars in New Zealand because of a potentially dangerous airbag defect.

Honda New Zealand national service manager Bryan Davis said Civic, Jazz and CR-V models manufactured in 2002 and 2003 and the 2003 Accord were fitted with defective airbag inflators supplied by Takata Corp.

The recall follows Honda Japan's announcement last week to recall 2 million vehicles worldwide for fear the airbags could explode and possibly shoot shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

Davis said 5856 New Zealand cars were affected, and customers were being notified by letter to confirm their vehicle was affected.

"The first action is to hold on. We're just letting you know that your car is affected, and if you don't receive a letter, your car is not," he said.

Customers would receive further information when replacement parts arrived.

The parts were expected to arrive at "some stage this month" and would be replaced free, Davis said.

Honda joins several other car-makers that have issued similar recalls globally.

Car manufacturers, including Toyota, Nissan and Mazda, last month announced recalls, bringing the total number of vehicles recalled to about 10.5 million worldwide since the defective airbags were found in 2009.